Life is A Game. Play To Win.
Let’s play a game. We’ll call this game “Life.” What questions do you have? Maybe, “what’s the goal? How do you win? What are the rules?” These are great questions because without the answers you don’t know what to do, what decisions to make, or which direction to go. Unfortunately, the ultimate game you are playing is life and there isn’t a cardboard box lid to flip over to read the rules of the game. (Or game rules to find online for my younger readers.)
Now different ideologies including religions provide some examples of rules, but these aren’t universal. If you aren’t a follower of that ideology then you are playing with a different set of rules than the people who are. But we are all living humans with virtually the same DNA. Therefore, the rules should be the same so long as we agree that our ultimate goal is to optimize the life we all have in front of us. You can’t optimize what you don’t systematize.
I propose that there are 2 Life Maxims that are agnostic to religious or cultural ideologies, so they apply to all of humanity. They provide a common construct to make decisions in complex situations and guide you through crafting your unique life story.
Maximize your own experience of life. Whatever that means to you. This will be as unique as the individual, but there is data to prove a few common threads. Outside of physical needs like food, shelter, and security; humans need connection, community, and purpose. But this also means having fun, trying new things, travel, and great food.
Maximize your impact on others. “Loneliness kills. It’s as powerful as smoking or alcoholism.” - Robert Waldinger. We are communal creatures. In order for you to experience fulfillment, you must be committed to a cause greater than yourself. Selfish gratification is always short-lived. Once the pleasure fades, it only leaves you wanting more.
That’s it. Simple right? It may be simple, but it’s not easy. There is much work to do to understand yourself. What does maximizing your own experience of life mean to you? This answer may change through the many seasons of life. It must also be balanced with positively impacting others. Overcommitting to one maxim at the detriment of the other is a losing formula over the long-term.
I set out to create a universal system for the optimal life with my book, A Warrior’s Mindset: The 6 Keys to Greatness. But after reflecting on the content, I realized that I hadn’t dug deep enough. I was missing the rules of the game. It all starts with reflecting on how to apply the 2 Life Maxims. The maxims guide you through the 6 Keys to Greatness as you continue to grow as a human-being and leader. The reality is that there are only two ultimate truths we know for sure about life. 1. You are going to die. 2. You don’t know when. So the ultimate question is, what are you going to do about it?